Lionel Messi vs Thomas Müller: Rivalry History Ahead of 2025 MLS Cup Final

Inter Miami’s Lionel Messi and Vancouver Whitecaps star Thomas Müller will renew one of modern football’s most famous rivalries when they meet in the 2025 MLS Cup Final at Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale on Saturday.​

Inter Miami will host Vancouver on 6 December in the league’s showpiece game, bringing together two World Cup winners whose careers have repeatedly crossed at the highest level in Europe and on the international stage. The final is Inter Miami’s first MLS Cup appearance and also the first for Vancouver, adding extra weight to a matchup already drawing global attention because of the Messi vs Müller storyline.​

MLS Cup final at a glance

The 2025 MLS Cup Final will be played at Chase Stadium, Inter Miami’s home ground in Fort Lauderdale, after Miami earned hosting rights through its higher regular-season seeding. Kickoff is scheduled for mid-afternoon in the United States, with the game broadcast globally through MLS Season Pass on Apple TV and major television partners in North America.​

Inter Miami reached the final by winning the Eastern Conference and defeating New York City FC 5–1 in the conference championship, while Vancouver claimed the Western Conference title with a 3–1 victory over San Diego FC. League coverage and international broadcasters have framed the contest as a “dream final” for MLS, with two global icons and multiple former Barcelona and Bayern Munich players involved on both sides.​

Key facts: 2025 MLS Cup Final

Messi vs Müller: rivalry and record

Messi and Müller have met many times in major tournaments, including the 2010 World Cup quarterfinal, the 2014 World Cup final and several UEFA Champions League knockout ties between Barcelona or Paris Saint‑Germain and Bayern Munich. In those encounters, Müller’s teams have usually come out on top, notably Germany’s wins over Argentina at the 2010 and 2014 World Cups and Bayern’s heavy aggregate victories over Barcelona in 2013 and 2020.​

Official MLS and media statistical previews suggest the pair have faced each other 10 or 11 times at senior level, with Müller’s sides winning between seven and eight of those matches and Messi’s teams victorious on only three occasions. Two of Messi’s wins came in international friendlies for Argentina, while the other was Barcelona’s 3–0 home win over Bayern in the 2015 Champions League semi‑final first leg. Müller, meanwhile, has been involved in landmark victories such as Germany’s 4–0 win over Argentina in 2010 and Bayern’s 8–2 victory against Barcelona in the 2020 Champions League quarterfinal.​

Selected Messi vs Müller meetings

Inter Miami, Messi and the road to the final

Messi arrived at Inter Miami in mid‑2023 with the aim of turning a struggling club into a title contender, joining when the team sat near the bottom of the MLS table. Since then, Miami have added other former Barcelona players and, in 2024, won the Supporters’ Shield as the league’s best regular‑season side, helping reposition the club as one of MLS’s flagship teams.​

In 2025, Messi delivered one of the most productive seasons in MLS history, winning the Golden Boot with 29 league goals and adding 19 assists for 48 total goal contributions, just one short of Carlos Vela’s single‑season record. Inter Miami finished third in the Eastern Conference with 65 points, then powered through the Audi 2025 MLS Cup Playoffs, with Messi contributing six goals and seven assists in five postseason games ahead of the final. Head coach Javier Mascherano, who played alongside Messi for Argentina and Barcelona, has stressed that despite Messi’s central role, the team’s recent improvement reflects a broader rise in performance across the squad.​

Inter Miami 2025 snapshot

Vancouver’s rise and Müller’s MLS impact

Vancouver Whitecaps’ 2025 season has marked a turning point for the Canadian club, which combined a deep run to the Concacaf Champions Cup final with one of its strongest MLS campaigns. The Whitecaps finished second in the Western Conference with 63 points and secured their first MLS Cup appearance after defeating San Diego FC 3–1 in the Western Conference final.​

Müller joined Vancouver in August 2025 on a free transfer after a long and decorated career at Bayern Munich, bringing with him experience of winning multiple Bundesliga titles, two UEFA Champions League crowns and the 2014 World Cup with Germany. Since arriving in MLS, he has scored nine goals and added four assists in 12 appearances for the Whitecaps across all competitions, immediately boosting their attacking efficiency and leadership in the final third. Club and league messaging has highlighted that Müller moved to MLS with a clear objective of winning another major trophy, with the MLS Cup now within one game of his reach.​

Vancouver Whitecaps 2025 snapshot

Legacy on the line – and what it means for MLS

Both Messi and Müller enter the 2025 MLS Cup as established greats, each already a World Cup winner and multiple Champions League champion before moving to North America. Messi has accumulated more than 40 major trophies for club and country and is widely cited as the most decorated player in football history, while Müller’s honours include over a dozen Bundesliga titles and a central role in Bayern Munich’s era of domestic dominance. For both men, MLS offers the chance to add a new league title in a different continent rather than to define careers that are already secure in football history.​

For MLS, the final underscores the league’s strategy of pairing domestic talent with global stars to grow audiences at home and abroad. Broadcasters and league officials expect record interest for the game, promoted as a clash between two world champions and long‑time rivals now wearing MLS shirts. Whatever the result in Fort Lauderdale, the Messi vs Müller storyline has already helped MLS amplify its global reach, and the outcome will shape how both players’ late‑career moves to North America are remembered.​

Major honours: Messi vs Müller

What this final means

The 2025 MLS Cup final gives Lionel Messi and Thomas Müller one more high‑stakes chapter in a rivalry that has stretched from World Cups and Champions League nights to the growing stage of Major League Soccer. Neither player needs this trophy to secure a legacy, but the winner will become the first of the two to lift MLS Cup and add a North American title to an already historic career.​

For MLS and its global audience, Miami vs Vancouver is a showcase of how the league now blends established superstars with ambitious clubs and expanding fan bases, ahead of the 2026 World Cup in the region. Whatever happens in Fort Lauderdale, the Messi vs Müller showdown ensures this final will be remembered as a landmark moment in the league’s rise and a defining late‑career stage for two of football’s most influential figures.